Empty buildings: Eyesore or untapped potential?

An empty building in Elk Grove Village, IL. Cities across the Midwest are faced with large amounts of abandoned and empty buildings.

Sarah Alvarez

An abandoned building can be a potent symbol of a depressed area or a bad economy. Ruin porn has been decried and criticized as unhelpful voyeurism, but the pictures of crumbling buildings in places like Gary, Indiana and Detroit, MI continue to multiply on photo sharing sites across the web.

Despite the tough market, redevelopment is happening. Cities, private developers, even individuals with vision are trying to take advantage of a buyer’s market. But, some of these buildings will never be revived, being left empty or demolished. We want to know about, and chronicle, this transformation of the landscape.